day # 2 in HCMC

what a day, what a day....

we began day #2 sleeping in which is not really that surprising if you know paul and i. :) then we got out and went to this little, authentic french restaurant near the city center called la fourchette. the meal was great and all but two other people in the place were speaking french. it was really cool and the food was incredible. all for a whopping $41.50. crazy times.

after lunch we walked and walked and walked some more. we walked around the city center and just took it all in. this place is vibrant and bustling. i got a manicure and pedicure today for only $6. it was simple and no frills, but the place was super relaxing. paul had a beverage downstairs in the bar while i got pampered. the salon and bar are the same place, so when we paid the bill it was all on the same ticket. who knew?!?! too funny. i hope to have another when we come back to HCMC before going home. so nice to be pampered.

later, we had iced vietnamese coffees while watching the scooters go by at a place called cafe terrace. scooter & traffic watching is one of the things to do here i n HCMC. it is fun and there is never a lack of things or people to watch. it started to sprinkle so we went inside this mall like place called saigon centre. interesting and much smaller than expected. the cool part was that the more we see, the more we think we could live here. there are lots of things here that make life easier than seoul. just from peering in a small grocery store inside this mall the cereal choices are three times what they are in seoul. sad, huh? there is also lots of places for home like things here. i know we are weird when comparing cities. the things we look for are probably nothing that you might think.

after the mall, we were on our way back to our part of town and strolled through a night market. interesting and lots of fake goods. paul got a t-shirt that is cool.

then, we walked back to the area where we are staying that is backpackersville. lots of cheap eats and cheap stays. it is a cool little niche of town. we went back to the hotel to freshen up and then walked around to find a place for dinner. we sat across the street at le pub for a bit trying more vietnamese beers. then we went strolling for dinner. we had a late and big lunch, so we were looking for something light and easy. we made the block once and then settled for a place called allez boo. it is a bar/restaurant that is located on the busiest intersection in the area. last night we had coffee across the street. we had dinner which was ok. nothing to write home about, but we got to try more vietnamese beers and people/traffic watch. one of the waiters was friendly and spoke english well enough. we had interesting conversation with him through the night. he asked me if i loved jesus and then we talked about jesus the rest of the evening. he and paul looked some things up on the touch while i sipped my beer. it was fun and we had a great time getting to know the ins and outs.

things here are great. HCMC is bustling and never quiet. lots of things to do and see. many cool little places to eat and have coffee. it is fun! we have talked many times this evening about living here in HCMC could be fun and exciting. we definitely would have lots of things to see and do.

tomorrow we are going to take a flight north to hanoi and then work our way down the coast back to HCMC. we cannot wait!!!